“Christian Zionism can be defined as Christian support for the Zionist cause— the return of the Jewish people to its bibli- cal homeland in Israel. It is a belief among some Christians that the return of Jews to Israel is in line with a biblical prophecy, and is necessary for Jesus to return to Earth as its king. These Christians are partly motivated by the writings of the Bible and the words of the prophets. . . .

I “Christian Zionists interpret both the

Torah and the New Testament as prophetic texts that describe future events of how the world will one day end with the return of Jesus from Heaven to rule on Earth. Israel and its people are central to their vision. They interpret passages from the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Isaiah as foreshadow- ing the coming Christian era. Many Chris- tians read the New Testament Book of Rev- elation as a prophetic text of how the world will be in the End Times. “Christian support for Israel is not a

recent development. Its political roots reach as far back to the 1880s, when a man named William Hechler formed a com- mittee of Christian Zionists to help move Russian Jewish refugees to Palestine after a series of pogroms. In 1884, Hechler wrote a pamphlet called, The Restoration of Jews to Palestine According to the Prophets.

18 | Jewish Voice Today JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011

Supporters of Israel Under Attack by the Church

n the Jewish Virtual Library, David Krusch stated this about Christian Zionism:

“A few years later, he befriended The- odor Herzl after reading Herzl’s book The Jewish State, and joined Herzl to drum up support for Zionism. Hechler even arranged a meeting between Herzl and Kaiser Wilhelm II to discuss Herzl’s pro- posal to establish a Jewish state in Pales- tine. The two men remained close friends up until Herzl’s death in 1904.”

Are Christian Zionism’s adversaries leading us to Armageddon? Today, Christian supporters of Israel are under attack and are being blamed for actions that will lead to Armageddon. However, the greatest irony is those theo- logians who condemn Christian support- ers of Israel are in fact the ones who are helping accelerate the final-day events that will lead to the final battle over Jerusa- lem—Armageddon. Most importantly, Christians who sup-

port Israel’s full and undivided right to the Promised Land (Genesis 15:17) are in total alignment with the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, while the “replacement theolo- gy” church leaders have stood with the international community, calling on Israel to leave the [occupied] Arab land. They believe that Bible prophecy, which is more than 30 percent of the Bible, is allegorical— not literal. They have not taken a biblical position but, rather, adopted a worldview in conjunction with the world community,

which has led Israel and the world to the most dangerous time in history. Additionally, supporters of “replace- ment theology” never express concern that if Israel obliges, they will be living in inde- fensible borders.

They are obsessed with the Israeli-Pal- estinian conflict, while Christians are being persecuted and killed by radical Muslims throughout the Middle East and around the world. In Europe, six million Jews were sent to their death, replaced by a continent with 30 million Muslims and a growing problem with radical Islam. Where were the Protestant Church and Catholic Church during the Holocaust? Moreover, they never mention the that Arabs have instigated

many wars

toward Israel or the 100-plus-year history of Muslims fighting each other or wars they are currently involved in:

• Up to 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by the Ottoman Empire (1914-1919).

• An estimated 500,000 to one million were killed and one to two million wounded in the Iranian-Iraqi war (1979-1988).

• Ongoing massacres in Sudan and other parts of North Africa are being perpetrated by Muslims.